
LESSONS ON MARK.
9
Lord; for these only can, he make great. The greatest
faith is that which believes all which God says without
question; and true faith is inseparably connected with that
love which keeps all the commandments of God. Gal.
5: 6. True greatness in God's eyes is, therefore, wise,
faithful, loving service, a losing of one's self in the will of
God.
3. QUESTION 20.—" Offend," in verses 42, 43, 45, and
47, should be translated as in the Revised Version, "cause
to stumble," " Whosoever shall cause one of these little
ones that believe on me to stumble," etc., and, "If thy
hand cause thee to stumble," etc. It is not to be under-
stood that the hand, or the foot, or the eye, should be lit-
erally cut off or pluCked out; for these members but
follow the desire of the heart and command or assent of
the will. But we should sever from us everything which
would cause us to stumble, even though it be as clear as a
hand or foot or eye. This is true as a church, it is true
as individuals. "The fire that never shall be quenched"
ought to be, as in the Revised Version, simply "unquench-
able fire," that is, fire which cannot be quenched till it
consumes what it has preyed upon, the worm which does
not die till it has devoured the carcasses and there is no
more left. An example of this unquenchable fire is given
in the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple. See Jer.
17:27; compare with 2 Chron. 36:19, 2I; or Jude 7 with 2
Peter 2:6. In both cases the fire burned up, and then
went out. The word " hell " comes from
Ge-enmz,
the
Valley of Hinnom, a place outside of Jerusalem where
the dead carcasses of malefactors and all manner of filth
and rubbish were cast. Here worms preyed upon it, and
what was left was consumed by the fires which were kept
constantly burning. The word is therefore used as sym-
bolical of the punishment.of the wicked, denoting -utter
and final destruction: